Audio Amateur 2/1978 PDF
Audio Amateur 2/1978 PDF - Issue is in black & white
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The 1978 issue 2 of The Audio Amateur features a deep bench of high-end DIY projects and technical investigations. Here are the highlights to entice your inner audio engineer:
- The Big Bass Box: Tired of thin, weak low end? David Ruether details his massive "monster" bass unit—a two-foot-wide housing for the legendary 24" Hartley driver. Learn how to build the enclosure and a custom electronic crossover to achieve a level of realism in the bottom octave that few systems can match.
- A Quality TV Sound Extractor: Stop settling for the tinny, low-fidelity audio from your television set. David Carlstrom provides a clever "sound tap" project using a specialized IC that allows you to extract high-quality broadcast audio to enjoy through your main stereo system.
- Modifying the Formula 4 Tonearm: Take a high-performance unipivot arm and make it even better. Fred Gloeckler details precision mechanical modifications, including the use of balsa wood and silicone damping, to optimize the popular Mayware arm for superior transparency and tracking.
- Super Stereo: Wave of the Future?: Go beyond traditional stereo and quadraphonic sound. Thomas Parsons explores groundbreaking Bell Labs research into spatial audio and binaural recording, showing how listeners can achieve a "moving concert hall" effect without the need for earphones.
- A Storage Cabinet for Phonograph Discs: Protect your investment with a custom-built vinyl library. The Editor provides complete plans and cutting guides for a professional-grade cabinet capable of holding up to 400 recordings in a sturdy, attractive housing.
- Audio Performance Tests for IC Op Amps: Audio legend Walt Jung begins a definitive series on op-amp distortion. Discover standard laboratory methods for characterizing Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) and Slewing Induced Distortion (SID) to ensure you are selecting the highest-performance components for your DIY builds.
- Interfaces: Arms, Cartridges, Turntables: Master the critical relationship between your playback components. B.J. Webb explores the physics of mechanical resonance and compatibility, providing essential wisdom for anyone looking to eliminate mud and mistracking from their front-end system.
- Kit Report: Heath’s IM 5258: Get the expert verdict on Heath's latest Total Harmonic Distortion analyzer. This in-depth report evaluates the assembly and performance of this auto-nulling instrument, testing if it lives up to its professional-grade specifications.
- Audio Aids: A treasure trove of reader-submitted hacks, including instructions for mounting the Grace G-707 tonearm on an AR turntable, techniques for reducing room noise, and a critical math correction for the Heath IG-18 generator.
- Classic Circuitry: This issue features the full schematic for the Ulric J. Childs 1951 control preamplifier, offering a fascinating reference for tube enthusiasts and restorers of vintage high-end gear.
Table of Contents
- Editorials ........................................................................................................................................ 3
- The Big Bass Box: by David Ruether ........................................................................................ 4
- A Quality TV Sound Extractor: by David Carlstrom ................................................................ 11
- Modifying the Formula 4 Tonearm: by Fred M. Gloeckler, Jr. ............................................... 15
- Super Stereo: Wave of the Future?: by Thomas W. Parsons ................................................. 18
- A Storage Cabinet for Phonograph Discs: by The Editor ...................................................... 22
- Interfaces: Arms, Cartridges, Turntables: by B.J. Webb ........................................................ 28
- Audio Performance Tests for IC Op Amps: by Walt Jung ...................................................... 32
- Audio Aids: by readers Philpot, Carlstrom & Muller, Spalding, and Wiles .......................... 36
- Classic Circuitry: The Ulric J. Childs preamp ............................................................................ 49
- Kit Report: Heath's IM 5258: by Fred M. Gloeckler, Jr. ........................................................ 50
- LETTERS ......................................................................................................................................... 50
- CORRECTIONS ............................................................................................................................. 50
- CLASSIFIED .................................................................................................................................... 56
- AD INDEX ....................................................................................................................................... 62